A century since defining battle

Exactly a hundred years ago last Friday, an upstart Carlisle football team took on the highly-heralded Army powerhouse in a gridiron classic.

The clash also matched up two of the greatest warriors — Jim Thorpe and Dwight D. Eisenhower — of the 20th Century.

Thorpe and his Carlisle squad — vying for their 10th season win — took the fight that day to Army, which hosted the game at West Point.

Led by Thorpe, who scored three touchdowns, Carlisle clobbered Army, 27-6.

In one of the most-significant college grid collisions of all time, Eisenhower came away injured after attempting to tackle Thorpe.

The next week, Eisenhower would play his final college football game.

More than 30 years later, he presided over the Allies’ successful defeat of the Axis European powers in World War II.

Thorpe would add to his legendary sports feats by playing pro football and competing in other sports endeavors.

But, on that day of Nov. 9, 1912, Thorpe — who had already made world headlines at the 1912 Olympic games — and his famed Carlisle coach ‘Pop’ Warner cared only about winning a football game — and to prove Indian players could play the game as good, or better, as anyone.